Method and system for generating and displaying an interactive dynamic selective view of multiply connected objects

ABSTRACT

A method and system for generating a graph view on a user interface in a computing environment, is provided. One implementation involves: at a server, generating coordinate data for a graph representing multiply connected objects; transmitting the coordinate data to a client as lightweight object data; and at the client, based on the lightweight object data, rendering an interactive dynamic graph view on a user interface; wherein the rendered graph view includes representations of a plurality of the multiply connected objects selected according to control information.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates generally to graphical display of data, and inparticular, to displaying a graph view of multiply connected objects.

2. Background Information

Visualization of and interaction with data helps users quicklyunderstand the types of data available and their interrelationships.Often, sets of data are presented as lists, or tables with columns,depicting specific attributes of each instance of data. Analyzing andunderstanding the nature and state of units of data, and appreciatingany subtle relationships and connections therebetween, can be difficultand time consuming. For example, in a screen display, large sets oftextual data cannot fit on a single display without the user having toscroll or page, whereby a user cannot retain a view of all the data atonce. A conventional solution is to draw a graph of objects with linesindicating relationships between pairs of objects, and some arbitraryshape representing each instance of an object. Typically, the scale ofthe graph can be controlled, and the data arranged in such a way thatall data or a selection of data can be viewed in a single screen. Anexample of this is a unified modeling language (UML) editor, whichallows users to examine a set of object classes and the relationshipsbetween them. The user can move around the graph, zoom into items ofinterest and view details of specific classes (e.g., zoom into objectsin the graph and identify relationships that exist between classes).

A relationship or connection between two objects is typically describedby specifying the name of the relationship and the direction of therelationship. The direction is often conveyed by drawing an arrowheadwhere the line connecting the objects meets the target object. A two-wayrelationship can be drawn as a line with an arrowhead on each end,connecting the objects. The name is often shown as a label next to theline. In some contexts, more than one relationship exists between anytwo objects, in both directions. In a complex graph, where there aremultiple objects with connections to many other objects, the end resultcan be a tangled graph, which is difficult to make sense of Graphdrawing techniques and algorithms are well known and attempt to reducethis visual complexity by arranging the objects in an aestheticallypleasing layout, such as a hierarchy, or by evenly distributing theobjects within the extent of the display. Another technique to improveclarity of a graph is to move objects around such that the number ofcrossings of connection lines is minimized. These require redrawing thegraph at a server as a bitmap, transmitting the bitmap to a client viacommunication link, and displaying the bitmap at a client. However, thisconsumes communication bandwidth and is slow.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a method and system for generating a graph viewon a user interface in a computing environment. One embodiment includes:at a server, generating coordinate data for a graph representingmultiply connected objects; transmitting the coordinate data to a clientas lightweight object data; and at the client, based on the lightweightobject data, rendering an interactive dynamic graph view on a userinterface; wherein the rendered graph view includes representations of aplurality of the multiply connected objects selected according tocontrol information.

The graph view includes visual elements connected by edges, such thatthe visual elements represent the objects and the edges representrelationships between the objects, and the control information includesobject relationship type information. The control information mayinclude object type information.

The rendered graph view may include representations of a plurality ofthe multiply connected objects filtered according to controlinformation, wherein the step of filtering is performed at the server.The step of filtering may also be performed at the client. The step offiltering may also be performed at both the server and the client.

The computing environment may comprise a service-oriented architectureand the data source may comprise a service registry, the client maycomprise a web browser on a thin client computing module, the server maycomprise a server application on a server computing module, wherein theclient module and the server module may be connected via a communicationlink.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the invention willbecome understood with reference to the following description, appendedclaims and accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of theinvention, as well as a preferred mode of use, reference should be madeto the following detailed description read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a functional block diagram of a system for generating anddisplaying an interactive dynamic graph view and corresponding listview, of multiply connected objects, according to an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of a process for generating and displaying aninteractive dynamic graph view of multiply connected objects, accordingto an embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 3-12 show examples of generating and interacting with a graphview, according to embodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 13-15B show examples of generating and interacting with a filteredview, according to embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 16 shows a functional block diagram of an example computingenvironment implementing an embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following description is made for the purpose of illustrating thegeneral principles of the invention and is not meant to limit theinventive concepts claimed herein. Further, particular featuresdescribed herein can be used in combination with other describedfeatures in each of the various possible combinations and permutations.Unless otherwise specifically defined herein, all terms are to be giventheir broadest possible interpretation including meanings implied fromthe specification as well as meanings understood by those skilled in theart and/or as defined in dictionaries, treatises, etc.

The invention provides a method and system for generating and displayingan interactive dynamic graph view of multiply connected objects. Oneembodiment involves generating graph data representing multiplyconnected objects at a server module, transmitting the graph data fromthe server module to a client module (such as web browser client) via acommunication link, and then at the client module displaying aninteractive dynamic graph view of the objects based on controlinformation. The graph view content includes visual representations ofthe objects, object types, object relationships, and relationship types.The graph content is dynamically rendered based on the controlinformation. In one implementation, the control information comprisesfiltering (selection) information for filtering the graph contentaccording to object type and/or object relationship type. The graphcontent is selectively displayed based on control information such assaid filtering information.

Objects of different type in a graph can be differentiated by a textlabel, a shape or line style, an icon or a color. These object markingscan help in understanding how objects are interconnected. Sometimesusers may be interested only in a subset of data, for example, onlyviewing objects that are related by relationships of a certain kind(type), or only objects of a few kinds Filtering the data and theconnections joining objects reduces the complexity of a graph to onlyrelevant information and makes patterns and structure easier to see, aswell as making a graph easier to layout and draw by the user interface.Being able to switch levels of filtering of object types andrelationships can also be important to compare differences betweenstructures of objects of one type (or types) and another. The inventionallows the end user to filter the resulting graph to simplify the viewor remove uninteresting objects. The graph data is dynamically andinteractively filtered without requiring the graph to be recalculated,which reduces the communication load (e.g., network load) between clientand server.

The invention provides controls in the form of filtering functions whichenable the content of the graph to be changed interactively according toobject type, relationship type or any other criteria. For example,filter information is passed to the server application and as the objectrelationships are traversed at the server, only those objects that passthrough the filter are added to the graph ready to be arranged in asuitable layout. As such, complexity of the graph is reduced by onlyshowing relevant information. The number of objects is reduced enablingthe graph to render more quickly. The filtering function can be appliedin the server module (server application) or in the client module(application), or both, providing options to reduce network load andimprove responsiveness to the user. The filtering control allows theuser to switch between different views of the same data quickly.Filtering the graph content dynamically enables users to easily select asubset of data, perhaps to apply some function, or delete those objectsfrom the current graph.

Understanding the contents and structure of a graph is simplified whenall the elements and relationships between them are visible to the user.The user can quickly select any element and perform some action on it.

A preferred implementation of the invention is in relation to registryapplications, described below. A registry application manages sets ofdata that can be multiply interconnected by any number of relationships,where each data object may represent some physical artifact or businessunit. Users of such a registry are interested in understanding theinter-dependencies between the objects stored in the registry, such thatthey can quickly see the effect of changing any of the data objects onother data. It is also a convenient way of applying a common operationto multiple objects selected in the graph representation.

In the description below first an example of generating and presenting agraph view to the user is described. Then an example of filtering theobjects in the graph is provided.

Generating Graph View

An example rendering system generates and displays an interactivedynamic graph view of multiply connected objects. The rendering systemimplements a rendering process for generating a dynamic graph view forillustrating, and interacting with, multiply connected objects in a webbrowser client. The rendering process allows a user to interact with thegraph to find more information about the objects displayed or performfurther actions with one or more of the objects. The system allowsdisplay of a graphical view to an end user with commonly available webbrowsers without the need to install plug-ins.

The system uses the capabilities of browsers and software libraries toenable data generated by server applications to be visualized as vectorsthat can be scaled, transformed and interacted with using vectorgraphics, providing users with similar quality presentation as dedicatedrich client applications combined with the network efficiencies of athin client retrieving pre-processed data from a server application. Inaddition, the system provides a mini-portal view of the entire graphallowing the user to track location regardless of the current scalefactor of the graph. The system also provides a history of previousgraph views so the user can return to previous views easily, withoutrequiring much storage on the client and none on the server (thisaddresses a common problem with asynchronous browser applications wherethe user presses the back button to go to a previous view and then findsthey are no longer on the same page).

A graph of objects is stored and managed by an application running on aserver machine (i.e., server application executing on a computing deviceor system). The objects may or may not be interconnected. The objectshave properties that allow them to be differentiated. For example, theymay have a property that indicates the type of the object, or a nameproperty that provides a human readable label. Objects may be connectedto one another by relationships. A relationship originates from a sourceobject and connects to a target object. The relationship itself may haveproperties to track which source and target objects it spans, and alsodescriptive properties such as a relationship name.

In order to view the graph of objects in a user interface, a set ofrelative coordinates for shapes that represent each of the objects inthe graph is computed by the server application, such that the visiblegraph represents the structure of the graph (i.e., the objects that makeup the graph and the relationships between them). This calculation mayalso apply constraints to improve the “readability” of the drawn graph.The constraints that affect structural and aesthetic interpretation mayinclude: connection lines that represent relationships, should notcross; connection lines should not cross shapes that represent objects;any hierarchy in the graph should be apparent, either by position or byindicating direction of relationship; connection lines should be short;connection lines should be aligned straight (e.g., horizontal orvertical); the distance between two objects should be as short aspossible.

Once the graph layout (i.e., the set of graph coordinates assigned toobjects and relationships) is determined, the graph can be drawn on auser interface by the server application. For an environment where a webbrowser provides the user interface, the server application must makethis graph coordinate data available via a HTTP request. The graph maybe transformed into a bitmap image (such as a JPG or GIF format file)and displayed on the web page. The image is static and provided limitedinteractivity. Each bitmap image consumes storage and network bandwidth,depending on the color depth and quality of the image. Specifically, thegraph could be drawn as a bitmap image by the server but that isinefficient as it causes large network load, and is not interactive. Itis therefore preferably to send only the coordinates to the clientwherein the client renders the graph such that users can interact withthe individual elements of the graph.

Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) describes a technology that isused to retrieve data to a client, such as a web browser for drawinggraphs (no special client side code/plug-ins are required). AJAXdescribes a technology (i.e., a combination of technologies) where webbrowser clients make an asynchronous HTTP request to a server and whendata is returned as Extensible Markup Language (XML) or JavaScriptObject Notation (JSON), it activates an event in a JavaScript programexecuted within the browser. JavaScript code can be written to handlethese events, and modify the current HTML page in place in some way thatreflects only changes to the page rather than redrawing the entire webpage.

According to an embodiment of the rendering system, history lists areused in conjunction with graph rendering and AJAX to allow previousgraphs to be redrawn. Overview windows are applied to the graphs. Oneimplementation is for accessing the data in a service registry anddisplaying the data in a web browser environment for a service-orientedarchitecture (SOA) computing environment. In a SOA environment, ServiceRegistries contain documents that relate to services and the associatedschemas, policies, etc.

One implementation using AJAX provides a lightweight system for graphicillustration of server content, in a system agnostic manner (client)while maintaining fluidic interaction. The system summarizes content asconcise elements, until focus is attained and sustained on an elementfor illustrating full element content. The system preserves navigationcontext, so as to be able to return to previously visited areas of focusin a model. The system displays content of a greater volume by using ascrollable, visual overview window.

An AJAX implementation of a rendering system for drawing objects in abrowser environment is described below. A graph settings data structureis utilized by the rendering system, which allows the client and serverimplementations to control the parameters which affect how the objectgraph is retrieved and presented. This includes filtering the types ofobjects to be shown in the graph, the types of relationships to show,the orientation of the graph (left to right or top to bottom), etc. FIG.1 shows a functional block diagram of a rendering system 10, accordingto the invention. The system 10 includes a client 11 including a browserclient 12, and a server 13 including a server application 14 whichaccesses data objects from a data source 15 (e.g., database such as aSOA service registry). At the request of the browser client 12, theserver application 14 generates graphs from said objects in the datasource 15, to be displayed by the browser client 12. The client 11 has adisplay and user input devices, and may be a computing module, acomputing node, a computing device, etc. The server 14 may be, forexample, a computing module, a computing node, a computing device,computing system, etc. The client 11 and the server 13 are connected viaa communication link (e.g., network, Internet) for data communication.The server 13 may service multiple clients 11 according to an embodimentof the invention.

Referring now also to FIG. 2, the rendering system 10 implements aprocess 20, according to an embodiment of the invention, including theprocess blocks described below.

-   -   Block 21: The client (e.g., browser client) requests a graph        view from the server application.    -   Block 22: The server application accesses a data source for data        to be presented as a graph, and computes graph coordinates and        layout. The server application may comprise a distributed server        application. The data source may comprise a database or a        service registry in an SOA. The server application sends the        graph coordinate data to the browser client in a lightweight,        standard format.    -   Block 23: The browser client includes event handling code to        process graph coordinate data into a form suitable for display.        The browser client further includes rendering code for a graph        drawing function library that allows vector graphics to be drawn        to any browser that supports a vector drawing format, such as        Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) or Vector Markup Language (VML).        The browser client code is not dependent on any specific        implementation of vector drawing capabilities in the browser,        either built-in or by installed plug-in. The graph is rendered        at the browser client using vector graphics.    -   Block 24: The browser client code processes the received graph        coordinate data by drawing shapes (e.g., rectangles) where an        object in the graph is to appear, connects those shapes together        where a relationship exists and indicates direction with an        arrow head. The browser client code then appends labels on        objects and relationships where such properties have been        provided by the server application. The graph coordinates are        scaled to fit in the available graph drawing area, or to match        the scale factor requested by a user.    -   Block 25: The browser client code then determines when the mouse        cursor (e.g., moved by the user) is over any shape or connection        in the graph and may provide additional visual cues (e.g.,        highlighting shapes and connections in a different color or        style, or showing additional information about an object).    -   Block 26: The browser client code determines when the user        “clicks” an object by moving the mouse cursor over the object        and clicking the mouse button. This action results in a behavior        determined by the application programmer (e.g., selection of the        object or objects, ready for some other action to be chosen and        applied, etc.).    -   Block 27: The browser client code allows the drawing canvas to        be “dragged” around the visible drawing area such that the graph        contents are moved correspondingly. The user moves the mouse        cursor to an area where no objects have been drawn and holds        down the mouse button while moving the mouse cursor. This has        the effect of attaching the cursor to the drawing area and as        the mouse is moved, the graph contents move correspondingly.    -   Block 28: The browser client code identifies (e.g., highlights)        the object from which the graph drawing originates, the root        object (e.g., by drawing its outline rectangle in a solid blue        line). The browser client code allows selection for display of        additional information. In one implementation, the browser        client allows selection of objects by clicking within the shape        being used to represent the object. Selection of an object is        indicated by e.g., shading the object shape a different color.        This indication allows the user to choose and apply an action to        the currently selected objects. Further, the browser client code        can provide additional information about any graph element (such        as an object or a relationship) when the user hovers the mouse        cursor over the element. This highlights the object under the        cursor (e.g., with a yellow dotted outline) and displays a        pop-up window or tooltip containing the additional information.

The above process is now described in further detail in terms of theoperations of the server and the client.

When the server application receives a request from the client togenerate graph coordinates and other information for a graph of a givendepth starting from a specified origin (root) object having anidentification ID, a graph creation function 18 (FIG. 1) of the serverapplication discovers and maintains relationships for display as agraph.

Starting with the root object ID, the object is retrieved from the datasource 15 by the graph creation function 18. The graph creation function18 then creates a graph node with properties that are required fordisplay (e.g., object name, type, unique ID). The graph node is added toa map of node IDs. The graph node is set as the source node (sourceobject).

Next, the graph creation function 18 recursively traverses relationshipsfrom that object to find the next level of target objects to add to thegraph, according to the settings for the graph passed from the client.The settings determine the depth of objects to be fetched and the typesof relationship to be followed. Next, when a relationship is traversed,the graph creation function 18 retrieves the target objects, wherein ifthe object ID for a target object does not exist in the node map, agraph node is created with properties required for display of the targetobject (as for the source node), plus a unique ID. If the graph nodedoes already exist, it is retrieved from the node map.

The graph creation function 18 then adds the graph nodes to an edgeobject. An edge object represents one or more relationships between thesource object and the target object. Importantly, an edge can representmore than one relationship. It does so via a relationship vector objectfor each type of relationship connecting the source object and targetobject.

After an edge is created between source and target graph nodes, thegraph creation function 18 sets the target nodes as source nodes in turnand their relationships traverse until the depth limit set by the graphsettings object is reached. At this point, there is a set of graph nodeobjects and a set of graph edges. This collection of data is thenprovided to a graph processing function 19 (FIG. 1) of the serverapplication to transform the collection data into a set of graph objectswith coordinates such that the graph meets readability constraints(i.e., the graph contents are arranged such that the connectioncrossings are minimized and connection lengths are reduced to reducegraph density and complexity). If relationships exist that may cause acycle in the graph, these relationships are reversed and marked as such.This allows the entire graph to have all relationships in the forwarddirection (i.e., the graph flows away from the root object). This helpsthe layout engine arrange the objects in the graph in a hierarchicalmanner.

The graph processing function 19 then transforms the graph data objectsinto lightweight objects that can be transferred to the client 12efficiently across the communication link. In one example, the“lightweight objects” comprise the minimal representations of objectsrequired by a client application to render a graph and are optimized andarranged such that the client can process them quickly. When the serverapplication processes related objects to build up the graph structure,there are several properties on those objects that are only relevant inthe server application context (sending these to the client consumesvaluable network and memory resources). The server application typicallyruns on a dedicated, high performance machine and preparing the data fortransmission to the client relieves the client of having to do anyobject unpacking and transformation, and has little effect on theperformance of the server application. The role of the clientapplication is to render the graph coordinates and respond to userinput. The object graph classes are designed to avoid any duplication ofdata, to keep identifier strings small, and also provide mappingsbetween related objects to assist processing of the data at the client12. Object attributes are described only once. An edge list referencesthe objects by ID. All object types are reduced to a unique object typeID. All relationships are reduced to a unique relationship ID. Cyclicalreferences are avoided using data structures that deliberately separatethe list of object nodes and the list of relationships between thosenodes. A separate data structure provides access to the natural languagesupport (NLS) translated text (in the client) for the names of each ofthe types of object and the names of each of the relationships.

The object graph is serialized (e.g., in JavaScript Object Notation(JSON) format) and sent to the client 12 from the server application 14.In one example, using JSON reduces the amount of data sent from theserver to client compared with XML, and clients using JavaScript notneed parse the data from XML elements (they are transformed intoJavaScript objects on arrival at the client by the browser).

At the client 12, the client code comprising a graph processing function17 receives the received object graph data. A rendering function 16 ofthe client code then scales the coordinates of objects to match thedisplay area, renders visual elements such as shapes/icons, to representgraph objects, and adds text properties. Relationships between objectsare drawn as connecting lines (edges) between the shapes. Whenprocessing relationships, the rendering function inspects therelationship vectors and if they are marked as reversed, it switches thedirection and draws an arrowhead in the correct direction.

The rendering function inspects each edge object and the relationshipvectors associated with them. If there is more than one relationshipvector in the same direction, the rendering function draws a doublearrowhead, or a single arrow if there is a single relationship vector.If the relationship vector is marked as reversed, the connection linecan have an arrowhead pointing in the other direction, or a separateconnection drawn with a reverse pointing arrowhead.

To set up mouse event handling code when a user moves a mouse cursorover a relationship connection line, the client stores a reference ID inan attribute on the HTML element used to represent the connection line.When a mouse-over event occurs, the client can retrieve the edge datathat the connection represents in order to build the list of informationto display in the pop-up window or tooltip. For each relationship vectorin the edge object, the client code can use the relationship ID to lookup a text label for that relationship (e.g., in the locale suitable fora client web browser).

An example operation scenario of the rendering system 10 according tothe above process 20 is described below.

Requesting a Graph for a Starting Object

The server application 14 provides the browser client 12 with a list ofdata objects from the data source 15. This list can be a predefined listof objects of the same type or the result of a search of objects thatmatch some criteria. The user selects an object from the list,requesting a graph to be drawn. Specifically, the user selects an object(i.e., root object) from the list of available objects, requesting thata graph be drawn for the selected object. FIG. 3 shows an example of auser interface for list 30 of objects 31 from a service registry,wherein the user may request generating a graph for the object byselecting a graph icon 31 i (e.g., WSDL document object) from the list30. The user interface is displayed by the browser client. The user maybe viewing a detail view of an object 31 selected from the list 30, andthen requests drawing a graph for it. FIG. 4 shows an example detailview 40 for a selected WSDL document object 31 displayed by the browserclient 12, wherein a user is clicking a Graphical View link 32 thereinto request a graph generation process for the object 31.

When the browser client 12 request drawing a graph based on the currentobject, an asynchronous HTTP request is made from the browser client 12to the web server application 14 via the communication link. The serverapplication 14 begins processing the graph, and in the meantime thebrowser client 12 may, for example, display an animated icon to indicatethe request is being processed.

When the server application 14 completes generating the graph, it sendsthe graph data to the browser client 12 as XML or some other textformat, and the rendering function 16 (FIG. 1) of the browser client 12is notified accordingly. The rendering function 16 then parses thereceived graph data and renders a graph of the root object 31, whereinthe graph includes graph elements (shapes) and connections. FIGS. 5A-Bshows an example graph 45 in a window display 41 of the browser client,including shapes 46 that represent objects 35 and lines/arrows 47 thatrepresent connections (relationships). In the following, exampleoperational features of the rendering function 16 are described.

Object and Relationship Highlighting and Information Views

In the graph 45, by default, the root object 31 (e.g., Address.wsdl WSDLDocument) is highlighted (e.g., in a different color) relative to otherdata objects 35 corresponding to the root object 31. In the examplegraph 45 (FIGS. 5A-B), all objects 31, 35, are shown as rectangles, witha text label showing the object name value. Differences between objecttypes are indicated by a graphical icon and a text label displaying theobject type. Objects are further differentiated by whether they arephysical documents (e.g., as a rectangle with a solid outline, such asobject 31) or objects derived from the contents of those documents(e.g., as rectangles with dotted outlines, such as objects 35).Relationships between objects 31, 35, are shown as lines 47 witharrowheads indicating the direction of the relationship.

Referring to FIG. 6, an example view 50 of the graph 45 is shown.Hovering the mouse cursor 51 over a connection 47 highlights thatconnection (e.g., in a different color or style) and displays a pop-upwindow (or tooltip) 52 that includes the name (e.g., SOAPAddress) forthe relationship(s). This saves the graph view from being cluttered withunnecessary labels. Highlighting the connection helps the user identifywhich relationship the window 52 is referring to, which is especiallyuseful when the graph is complex with many, possibly intersectingconnections 47. Referring to FIG. 7, an example view 55 of the graph 45is shown. Hovering the mouse cursor 51 over a shape 46 representing anobject, highlights the shape 46 (e.g., in a different color and/orstyle) and displays a pop-up window (or tooltip) 53 providing furtherdetails about the object. This saves the graph view from being clutteredwith unnecessary information and labels.

Object Selection and Applying Actions

Objects in the graph 45 can be selected by clicking on theirrepresentative shapes 46. As shown by example in FIGS. 8A-B, one or moreselected objects are shows by highlighted shapes 46 s. To select morethan one graph object, a control key can be held down as the user clickson each of the objects they wish to add to the selection. With multipleobjects selected, actions can be performed on all of the selectedobjects simultaneously by choosing the action from e.g. a pop-up list56. In one example, certain actions may not be applicable when multipleobjects in the graph are selected or when certain types of object areselected (e.g., inapplicable actions are disabled and grayed out in thelist 56).

Navigation Context with Scrollbars, Canvas Dragging and Viewport

As shown by example view 60 in FIGS. 9A-B, if the extent of the graph 45is beyond the area of a main graphical view window 41 of the browserclient, then one or more scrollbars 61 are displayed. The user can moveto other, hidden, areas of the graph by moving the scrollbars in theappropriate direction. In addition to using scroll bars to move aroundthe extent of the graph, the rendering function provides the ability todrag the background drawing canvas. That is, the user can place themouse cursor on an empty area of the display, press a mouse button anddrag the graph 45 around to the desired position within a graphical viewwindow 42. The user can control movement in the horizontal and verticaldirections simultaneously. When the user is dragging the canvas, themouse cursor changes to indicate the dragging mode. In the example shownin FIG. 9, the canvas has been dragged to the right.

In the preferred embodiment, the rendering function implements a viewingwindow 62 onto the graph, to help users navigate around the graph,particularly when the graph does not fit the available display area. Theexample viewing window 62 represents a compact, simplified view of theentire graph structure 63, without text labels or connections. A viewport window 64 (e.g., semi-transparent rectangle) within the viewingwindow 62 may be controlled by the user and can be dragged around in theviewing window 62 over the compact representation of the graph. Whateverunderlying objects in the viewing window 62 are within the boundary ofthe view port 64, are displayed in the graphical view window 42 in moredetail (the viewing window 62 is synchronized to the graphical viewwindow 42). Referring to the example view 65 in FIGS. 10A-B, as the viewport 64 is moved, the displayed portion of the graph 45 in the graphicalview window 42 changes correspondingly.

In this example, the proportions of the view port rectangle 64 match therelative proportions of the graphical view window 42. If the graphicalview window 42 is wider than it is in the vertical dimension, this isreflected in the view port rectangle 64 of the viewing window 62. Thesize of the viewing window 62 is fixed and represents the contents ofthe entire contents (objects) graph structure 63. If the graphical viewwindow 42 is sufficiently large to display all objects in the graphstructure 63, the view port control 64 extends to the same size as theviewing window 62. Similarly, user movement of the scroll bars 61 on thegraphical view window 62 will change the visible graph contents and thisis reflected in the viewing window 62, with the view port rectangle 64automatically moved accordingly. Dragging the background canvas of themain graphical view has the same effect. FIGS. 11A-B shows an exampleview 70, wherein as the view port 64 is moved, the displayed portion ofthe graph 45 in the graphical view window 42 changes correspondingly.

Keeping History of Previous Graph Views in a Browser Environment

In a browser environment, users are familiar with clicking the Backbutton to return to the previous page of data which was generated as theresult of making a HTTP request to a server, and the entire page isfetched and displayed. For web pages using AJAX style technology,typically only those elements of the page that need refreshing arerequested from the server asynchronously, and the relevant parts of thescreen updated, without redrawing the entire page. The browser addressdoes not change.

In the context of an embodiment of the invention, the user reaches apage which contains the object graph as well as related controlelements, such as the viewing window 62, action list 56, and certainfilter controls such as a view port 64. After viewing a graph 45, theuser may decide to view another graph by starting at another objectvisible in the graph 45. The user can do so by choosing a Re-focus Graphaction in the list of available actions 56, causing an asynchronousrequest at the server application, which in turn returns updated graphdata.

The rendering function of the browser client then uses the updated graphdata to render only the content of the graphical view window 42 (allother controls remain on the screen and are not refreshed). As such,less graph data need be sent from the server application to the clientover the communication link, and reducing user wait time for screenupdates.

The rendering function maintains a graph navigation history whichrecords the origin object for previous graphs, and their various displaysettings. FIG. 12 shows an example navigation history 75. The displaysettings may include, e.g., graph depth and filter settings. At anypoint, the user can now select a link 76 in the graph navigation history75 to have the graph redrawn by the rendering function from that originusing the original settings.

Filtering Graph View

A preferred embodiment is for display of relationships between objectsstored in a shared registry application. This particular registry storesbusiness service artifacts and maintains relationships between thoseartifacts, whether they are derived from published documents or createdby users of the registry. Relationships can exist between any types ofobject and to any level of cardinality (from zero to unlimitedrelationships).

An example of relationships that can be extracted from a documentcontent are those for a WSDL document. The WSDL specification allows thedocument to “import” elements of WSDL from other WSDL documents, orimport schema definitions from XML Schema Definition (XSD) documents.Likewise, XSD documents can include fragments of XML from other XSDdocuments using an “include” reference. In these three examples, theregistry embodiment would model these relationships and give them namessuch as “imported WSDLs”, “imported XSDs” and “included XSDs”,respectively.

In a registry context, a WSDL document, XML document, XSD document,policy document and a Word document, and any other type of document thata user can view and edit are all examples of “physical” documents, andthese can be published and stored into the registry. They can be relatedto each other by the kinds of relationships mentioned earlier, where thedocument model specification allows references to other physicalartifacts. These types of relationships are known as “physical” or“external” relationships.

A WSDL definition, and an XSD definition also contains other elementswhich define service attributes and type attributes, respectively. Forexample, in a WSDL document, there will be, among others, Service, Port,Binding, PortType elements. For XSD, elements can include complexType,simpleType, element and attribute. All of these are modeled in theregistry as registry objects that can also have relationships betweeneach other. Some of the relationships are a direct result of theconstraint rules of the specification of the document from which theyare derived. These relationships are known as “derived” relationships.

Objects can be connected to several other objects, and those objects inturn can be connected to yet more objects. After just a few levels ofobjects away from the root object, the total number of objects tocalculate a graph for at the server, send to the client to display, andthen render, can quickly become large enough to make the calculationtime long, and the network traffic high, negatively impacting theresponse time to the client. The more objects to be drawn and presentedto the user, the more the complexity of the corresponding graph, and thelesser the user ability to understand the graph contents.

The invention provides controls, such as client filtering functions thatallow the user of the client (e.g., browser client) to control the typesof relationships that are to be traversed when fetching objects from theregistry for representing in the graph. This affects how many objectsare retrieved in the server application when collecting objects to beadded to the graph data structure. To provide the user with flexibilityin choosing how to filter the graph content, all the possiblerelationship types may be selectable in the client user interface. Inaddition, filtering of objects of different type may be enabled. In oneexample, this may result in at least 30 different relationships, notincluding user-defined relationships, and about the same number ofobject types, which makes it suitable for skilled users.

To simplify the user interface, in the example implementation herein,all physical relationships are grouped together and labeled as “externalrelationships”, and all derived relationships are grouped together andlabeled as “derived relationships”. The user may choose to display allthe objects by following all possible relationships, or following onlyexternal relationships (between physical documents) or by following onlyderived relationships (between objects) that were derived from physicaldocuments.

FIGS. 13A-B shows an example of the filtering control options 80A andthe resultant graph view 80B which displays representations 46 of allobjects as a result of traversing all types of relationships. FIGS.14A-B shows an example of the filtering control options 81A and theresultant graph view 81B which displays only representations 46 e ofthose objects which result from traversing external relationships. FIGS.15A-B shows an example of the filtering control options 82A and theresultant graph view 82B which displays representations 46 d of onlythose objects which result from traversing derived relationships. Suchoptions allow users to quickly switch between levels of detail in thegraph but still see the important relationships between the objects. Theabove process is now described in further detail in terms of theoperations of the server and the client.

Server Processing

When the server application 14 (FIG. 1) is requested to generate graphcoordinates and other information for a graph of a given depth startingfrom a specified origin (root) object, the server application followsthis process to discover and maintain relationships that will end up inthe graph:

-   -   Starting with the root object ID, the server graph creation        function 18 (FIG. 1) retrieves the object and creates a graph        node with any properties that are required for display (e.g.,        name and type), and is assigned a unique ID. The graph node is        added to a map of node IDs. The graph node is set as the source        node.    -   The server graph creation function 18 recursively traverses        relationships from that source object to find the next level of        target objects to add to the graph, according to the settings        for the graph passed from the client. The settings determine the        depth of objects to be fetched and the types of relationship to        be followed.    -   When a relationship is traversed, each target object is        retrieved and if a retrieved object ID does not exist in the        node map, the server graph creation function 18 creates a graph        node with any properties required for display, as for the source        node, with a unique ID. If the graph node already exists, it is        retrieved from the node map. If the graph settings require the        graph to be filtered by type of object, or other criteria, this        is checked and only those objects that pass the filter are        retrieved,    -   The server graph creation function 18 then adds the target graph        nodes to an edge object. An edge object represents one or more        relationships between the source object and the target object.        An edge can represent more than one relationship. It does this        by containing a “relationship vector” object for each type of        relationship connecting the source and target object. For        example, if the source object is A and the target object is B,        then A can have a relationship to B called imports and another        relationship called depends on. Only one edge object is used to        indicate that A and B are connected. In this case, two        relationship vector objects are created, one for the imports        relationship, and one for the depends on relationship. The        relationship vector is so called because it can also indicate        the direction of the connection. The edge is given a small and        unique identifier. Each relationship vector is given a small and        unique identifier from a known list of relationship type        identifiers that map to human readable labels for each        relationship. The identifiers are small (have few characters)        because they will be serialized and sent from the server to the        client. Reducing the volume of data improves response time and        reduces network load.    -   After an edge is created between source and target graph nodes,        the target nodes are set as source nodes in turn and their        relationships traversed until the depth limit set by the graph        settings object is reached.    -   At this point there is a set of graph node objects and a set of        graph edges. This collection of data is then given to the graph        processing function 19 to transform into a set of graph objects        with coordinates such that the graph meets readability        constraints, that is, the graph contents are arranged such that        the connection crossings are minimized and connection lengths        are reduced to reduce graph density and complexity. The graph        data is serialized and returned to the client 11 as lightweight        data.

Client Processing

-   -   The client graph processing function 17 processes the object        graph data, scaling the coordinates of objects to match the        display area, and the client rendering function 16 renders        shapes, icons to represent graph objects and adding text        properties. Relationships between objects are drawn as        connecting lines 47 between the shapes 46. The client rendering        function 16 provides a visual control (e.g., controls 80A, 81A,        82A, above) which reflects the current graph settings, including        object type and relationship type filters, depth of graph        traversal and any other criteria for controlling the content of        the graph.

As such, the invention provides controls that enable the content of thegraph to be changed interactively according to object type, relationshiptype or any other criteria. Complexity of the graph is reduced by onlyshowing relevant information. The number of objects is reduced, enablingthe graph to render more quickly. The filtering function can be appliedin the server module (server application) or in the client module(application), or both, providing options to reduce network load andimprove responsiveness to the user. The filtering control allows theuser to switch between different views of the same data quickly.Filtering the graph content dynamically enables users to easily select asubset of data, perhaps to apply some function, or delete those objectsfrom the current graph.

As is known to those skilled in the art, the aforementioned examplearchitectures described above, according to the invention, can beimplemented in many ways, such as program instructions for execution bya processor, as software modules, microcode, as computer program producton computer readable media, as logic circuits, as application specificintegrated circuits, as firmware, etc. Further, embodiments of theinvention can take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, anentirely software embodiment or an embodiment containing both hardwareand software elements.

FIG. 16 shows a block diagram of an example architecture of anembodiment of a system 100 configured to perform the processes describedabove, according to an embodiment of the invention. The system 100includes one or more client devices 101 connected to one or more servercomputing systems 130. A server 130 includes a bus 102 or othercommunication mechanism for communicating information, and a processor(CPU) 104 coupled with the bus 102 for processing information. Theserver 130 also includes a main memory 106, such as a random accessmemory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device, coupled to the bus 102 forstoring information and instructions to be executed by the processor104. The main memory 106 also may be used for storing temporaryvariables or other intermediate information during execution orinstructions to be executed by the processor 104. The server computersystem 130 further includes a read only memory (ROM) 108 or other staticstorage device coupled to the bus 102 for storing static information andinstructions for the processor 104. A storage device 110, such as amagnetic disk or optical disk, is provided and coupled to the bus 102for storing information and instructions. The bus 102 may contain, forexample, thirty-two address lines for addressing video memory or mainmemory 106. The bus 102 can also include, for example, a 32-bit data busfor transferring data between and among the components, such as the CPU104, the main memory 106, video memory and the storage 110.Alternatively, multiplex data/address lines may be used instead ofseparate data and address lines.

The server 130 may be coupled via the bus 102 to a display 112 fordisplaying information to a computer user. An input device 114,including alphanumeric and other keys, is coupled to the bus 102 forcommunicating information and command selections to the processor 104.Another type or user input device comprises cursor control 116, such asa mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys for communicatingdirection information and command selections to the processor 104 andfor controlling cursor movement on the display 112.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the functions of theinvention are performed by the processor 104 executing one or moresequences of one or more instructions contained in the main memory 106.Such instructions may be read into the main memory 106 from anothercomputer-readable medium, such as the storage device 110. Execution ofthe sequences of instructions contained in the main memory 106 causesthe processor 104 to perform the process steps described herein. One ormore processors in a multi-processing arrangement may also be employedto execute the sequences of instructions contained in the main memory106. In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used inplace of or in combination with software instructions to implement theinvention. Thus, embodiments of the invention are not limited to anyspecific combination of hardware circuitry and software.

The terms “computer program medium,” “computer usable medium,” “computerreadable medium”, and “computer program product,” are used to generallyrefer to media such as main memory, secondary memory, removable storagedrive, a hard disk installed in hard disk drive, and signals. Thesecomputer program products are means for providing software to thecomputer system. The computer readable medium allows the computer systemto read data, instructions, messages or message packets, and othercomputer readable information from the computer readable medium. Thecomputer readable medium, for example, may include non-volatile memory,such as a floppy disk, ROM, flash memory, disk drive memory, a CD-ROM,and other permanent storage. It is useful, for example, for transportinginformation, such as data and computer instructions, between computersystems. Furthermore, the computer readable medium may comprise computerreadable information in a transitory state medium such as a network linkand/or a network interface, including a wired network or a wirelessnetwork, that allow a computer to read such computer readableinformation. Computer programs (also called computer control logic) arestored in main memory and/or secondary memory. Computer programs mayalso be received via a communications interface. Such computer programs,when executed, enable the computer system to perform the features of thepresent invention as discussed herein. In particular, the computerprograms, when executed, enable the processor multi-core processor toperform the features of the computer system. Accordingly, such computerprograms represent controllers of the computer system.

Generally, the term “computer-readable medium” as used herein refers toany medium that participated in providing instructions to the processor104 for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but notlimited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media.Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical or magnetic disks,such as the storage device 110. Volatile media includes dynamic memory,such as the main memory 106. Transmission media includes coaxial cables,copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise the bus102. Transmission media can also take the form of acoustic or lightwaves, such as those generated during radio wave and infrared datacommunications.

Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppydisk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, or any other magneticmedium, a CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, anyother physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, aFLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave asdescribed hereinafter, or any other medium from which a computer canread.

Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying oneor more sequences of one or more instructions to the processor 104 forexecution. For example, the instructions may initially be carried on amagnetic disk of a remote computer. The remote computer can load theinstructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over atelephone line using a modem. A modem local to the server 130 canreceive the data on the telephone line and use an infrared transmitterto convert the data to an infrared signal. An infrared detector coupledto the bus 102 can receive the data carried in the infrared signal andplace the data on the bus 102. The bus 102 carries the data to the mainmemory 106, from which the processor 104 retrieves and executes theinstructions. The instructions received from the main memory 106 mayoptionally be stored on the storage device 110 either before or afterexecution by the processor 104.

The server 130 also includes a communication interface 118 coupled tothe bus 102. The communication interface 118 provides a two-way datacommunication coupling to a network link 120 that is connected to theworld wide packet data communication network now commonly referred to asthe Internet 128. The Internet 128 uses electrical, electromagnetic oroptical signals that carry digital data streams. The signals through thevarious networks and the signals on the network link 120 and through thecommunication interface 118, which carry the digital data to and fromthe server 130, are exemplary forms or carrier waves transporting theinformation.

In another embodiment of the server 130, interface 118 is connected to anetwork 122 via a communication link 120. For example, the communicationinterface 118 may be an integrated services digital network (ISDN) cardor a modem to provide a data communication connection to a correspondingtype of telephone line, which can comprise part of the network link 120.As another example, the communication interface 118 may be a local areanetwork (LAN) card to provide a data communication connection to acompatible LAN. Wireless links may also be implemented. In any suchimplementation, the communication interface 118 sends and receiveselectrical electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital datastreams representing various types of information.

The network link 120 typically provides data communication through oneor more networks to other data devices. For example, the network link120 may provide a connection through the local network 122 to a hostcomputer 124 or to data equipment operated by an Internet ServiceProvider (ISP) 126. The ISP 126 in turn provides data communicationservices through the Internet 128. The local network 122 and theInternet 128 both use electrical, electromagnetic or optical signalsthat carry digital data streams. The signals through the variousnetworks and the signals on the network link 120 and through thecommunication interface 118, which carry the digital data to and fromthe server 130, are exemplary forms or carrier waves transporting theinformation.

The server 130 can send/receive messages and data, including e-mail,program code, through the network, the network link 120 and thecommunication interface 118. Further, the communication interface 118can comprise a USB/Tuner and the network link 120 may be an antenna orcable for connecting the server 130 to a cable provider, satelliteprovider or other terrestrial transmission system for receivingmessages, data and program code from another source.

The example versions of the invention described herein are implementedas logical operations in a distributed processing system such as thesystem 100 including the servers 130. The logical operations of thepresent invention can be implemented as a sequence of steps executing inthe server 130, and as interconnected machine modules within the system100. The implementation is a matter of choice and can depend onperformance of the system 100 implementing the invention. As such, thelogical operations constituting said example versions of the inventionare referred to for e.g. as operations, steps or modules.

Similar to a server 130 described above, a client device 101 can includea processor, memory, storage device, display, input device andcommunication interface (e.g., e-mail interface) for connecting theclient device to the Internet 128, the ISP 126, or LAN 122, forcommunication with the servers 130.

The system 100 can further include computers (e.g., personal computers,computing nodes) 105 operating the same manner as client devices 101,wherein a user can utilize one or more computers 105 to manage data inthe server 130.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations andmodifications of the just-described preferred embodiments can beconfigured without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.Therefore, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appendedclaims, the invention may be practiced other than as specificallydescribed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for generating a graph view on a userinterface in a computing environment, comprising: at a server:generating, by a first hardware processor of the server, graph objectswith coordinate data for a graph representing multiply connectedobjects, wherein the multiply connected objects comprise graphicalrepresentations based on object type, and the connections comprisegraphical representations for graphically representing a directionalrelationship between connected objects, wherein the graph view includesvisual elements connected by edges, such that the visual elementsrepresent the objects and the edges represent relationships between theobjects, and the control information includes object relationship typeinformation, wherein previous graph views are stored for returning to aprevious displayed graph, wherein the connections between objectsrepresenting the directional relationship between objects are minimizedand connection crossings are reduced for reducing graph density andcomplexity wherein the connections are minimized and connectioncrossings are reduced for reducing graph density and complexity, whereinif particular relationships exist that cause a cycle in the graph,reversing the particular relationships, and reversing direction of apointing element; transforming the graph objects into lightweightobjects; and transmitting, by the first hardware processor, thelightweight objects to a client by the server; and at the client:rendering, by a second hardware processor of the client, an interactivedynamic graph view on a user interface based on the lightweight objects,wherein the pointing element is displayed with a reversed direction inthe interactive dynamic graph view on the user interface, wherein therendered graph view includes graphical representations of a plurality ofthe multiply connected objects and graphical representations ofrelationships between the multiply connected objects selected accordingto control information.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprisingscaling, by the second hardware processor of the client, coordinates ofgraph objects to match a display area, and the graphical representationsbased on object type comprise different representations displayed basedon type of object content.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein thecomputing environment comprises a service-oriented architectureincluding the server and the client, and the data source comprises aservice registry, the client comprises a web browser on a thin clientcomputing module, the server comprises a server application on a servercomputing module, wherein the thin client computing module and theserver computing module may be connected via a communication link.
 4. Acomputer program product for generating a graph view on a user interfacein a computing environment, comprising a non-transitory computer usablemedium including a computer readable program including programinstructions, wherein the computer readable program when executed on acomputer system causes the computer system to: at a server: generategraph objects with coordinate data for a graph representing multiplyconnected objects by a server, wherein the multiply connected objectscomprise graphical representations based on object type, and theconnections comprise graphical representations for graphicallyrepresenting a directional relationship between connected objects,wherein the graph view includes visual elements connected by edges, suchthat the visual elements represent the objects and the edges representrelationships between the objects, and the control information includesobject relationship type information, wherein previous graph views arestored for returning to a previous displayed graph, wherein theconnections are minimized and connection crossings are reduced forreducing graph density and complexity, wherein if particularrelationships exist that cause a cycle in the graph, reversing theparticular relationships, and reversing direction of a pointing element;transform the graph objects into lightweight objects; and transmit thelightweight objects to a client from the server; and at the client:rendering an interactive dynamic graph view on a user interface based onthe lightweight objects, wherein the pointing element is displayed witha reversed direction in the interactive dynamic graph view on the userinterface; wherein the rendered graph view includes graphicalrepresentations of a plurality of the multiply connected objects andgraphical representations of relationships between the multiplyconnected objects selected according to control information.
 5. Thecomputer program product of claim 4, wherein the computing environmentcomprises a service-oriented architecture and the data source comprisesa service registry, and the client is located in the computingenvironment and comprises a web browser on a thin client computingmodule, the server is located in the computing environment and comprisesa server application on a server computing module, wherein the clientmodule and the server module may be connected via a communication link.6. A system for generating a graph view on a user interface in acomputing environment, comprising: at a first device: generating graphobjects with coordinate data for a graph representing multiply connectedobjects, wherein the multiply connected objects comprise graphicalrepresentations based on object type, and the connections comprisegraphical representations for graphically representing a directionalrelationship between connected objects, wherein the graph view contentincludes visual elements connected by edges, such that the visualelements represent the objects and the edges represent relationshipsbetween the objects, graph view includes visual elements connected byedges, such that the visual elements represent the objects and the edgesrepresent relationships between the objects, the control informationincludes one or more of: object type information and object relationshiptype information, wherein the object relationship type comprisesexternal relationships, derived relationships and user definedrelationships, wherein if particular relationships between objects existthat cause a cycle in the graph, reversing the particular relationshipsand reversing direction of a pointing element; transforming the graphobjects into lightweight objects; and transmitting the lightweightobjects to a second device; and at the second device: an interactivedynamic graph view of the multiply connected objects on a user interfacebased on the lightweight objects, wherein the pointing element isdisplayed with a reversed direction in the interactive dynamic graphview on the user interface; wherein the rendered graph view includesgraphical representations of a plurality of the multiply connectedobjects and graphical representations of relationships between themultiply connected objects selected according to control information. 7.The system of claim 6, wherein the computing environment comprises aservice-oriented architecture and the data source comprises a serviceregistry, the first device comprises a web browser on a thin clientcomputing module, the second device comprises a server application on aserver computing module, wherein the thin client computing module andthe server module may be connected via a communication link.
 8. Thesystem of claim 6, further comprising: the first device retrieving dataunits and data unit relationships from a data source, then generatinggraph objects with coordinate data for a graph including data objectsrepresenting the data units, and connections between the objectsrepresenting the corresponding data unit relationships; wherein theinteractive graph view includes visual elements connected by edges, suchthat the visual elements represent the objects and the edges representrelationships between the objects, wherein the rendered interactivegraph view includes representations of a plurality of the multiplyconnected objects selected according to control information.